> What kind of weight savings would that produce?
My 9.2" deck (351C deck height) aluminum Fontana race block comes in at
116 lbs. A U.S. production iron 351C block comes in at around 172 lbs
for a weight savings of 56 lbs. Iron 9.2" deck race blocks are closer to
200 lbs, so the savings is maybe 84 pounds. The 400 block is around 196
lbs, IIRC. Some years back Super Ford had a dyno test of an all-aluminum
Cleveland stroker. It had C302B heads, matching intake, Fontana blocks,
etc. The stated weight was 404 lbs which is quite light.
> Would that have limitations on compression?
No.
> Wouldn't that make a good base for aluminum heads since the expansion
> rate would be the same?
Yes. Beware that an aluminum block and heads combo will grow more cold
to hot which will affect the cam lash requirements.
> I was aware of the Fontana block, still jazzed though that SJ Perf is
> casting a "Cleveland" block in alloy.
Yes it's cool. The current exchange rate hurts the Aussie imports at
the moment. Hopefully by the time the alumunum 351C block is available
the exchange rate will improve.
> I've got 2 questions re your new engine; what manifolding will you be using
> to build the IR EFI (I've seen this before on Hubert Jasinski's Pantera)
I'll be using an intake cast by Pantera owner Kelly Coffield. He's making
IR EFI intakes for 4V, A3, B351, and C302 cylinder heads for 9.2" (Cleveland)
and 9.5" (Windsor) blocks, with and without integral thermostat housings.
Here are some pictures of Kelly's early pattern making work:
http://www.bacomatic.org/irefi/irefi.html He's got the first of the test intakes back from the foundry so it shouldn't
be long before the production versions are available.
> and will the wrist pins miss the oil rings with the Scat stroker?
piston pin height = deck height - (rod length + crank stroke/2)
= 9.2 - (6.0 + 3.85/2)
= 1.275 inches
That's usually enough to keep it out of the pin but I don't consider that a
big deal. The limiting factor for Cleveland stroker pistons is often the
valve notch in the block and pistons. Cleveland blocks are usually notched
at the tops of their bores for valve clearance/shrouding which can place a
limit on the top ring placement (needs to be below the valve notch at TDC
plus rod stretch). The depth of the notch varies from block to block but on
my Aussie XE block, it's about 0.27" down from the deck. With a six inch rod,
a 4" stroke is doable in a 9.2" Cleveland block. Don't get hung up on rod
ratio. A good rule-of-thumb (from Jon Kaase) is the rods should be 2" longer
than the stroke.
> I will be doing EFI myself someday, going the throttle body on spider
> manifold route (Quality Roadsters), the goal being to keep the motor
> looking stock (Paint the mainfold blue, place a ribbed "Pantera" air
> cleaner on top) and avoid an induction system poking through the engine
> screen.
That'll work. The short stack IR EFI will also fit under the stock screen,
as will the tunnel ram based EFI units (they are lower than expected
without the carbs).
> You are a great advocate & source of info re the Cleveland motor.
Thanks, just trying to do my part.
Dan Jones
